Home
by The Cinderninja
Summary: A future where the Fentons adopt Dani as one of there own. A series of short stories, mostly focusing on the Fenton Sibling Trio. There'll still be plenty of Team Phantom, the 'rents, and some Valerie thrown in. Follows canon up to D-Stabilized, but tosses Phantom Planet out the window.
1. Home

**Mossmask: If this seems familiar, it's because it's an old oneshot from my Glimpses collection. I've decided to use the premise to make a new series of drabbles, oneshots, and short stories. All based on this au concept. Everything up to and including D-Stabilized has happened. Phantom Planet never took place.**

**Chapters will not always happen in chronological order. Most of the time, they'll probably be out of order. Just the first two will help establish the universe. After that it's all been thrown in a blender and who knows what'll come out.**

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Home

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A new lease on life. A fresh start. That's what she was being offered. That was the opportunity she had been given. The question was, would she take it?

She'd never really had parents. She'd never even accept the fact that she'd ever had one. She just couldn't see him that way. She'd never gone to school before -what would it be like? Would she make friends? How does someone make friends anyway? She'd never had those before either. Would she know enough, or would she look foolish in front of everybody?

For someone who'd only been alive for 2 years, she at least _felt_ rather clever. Yes still, she was scared. She'd never had siblings either. She could hardly imagine what _that_ might be like – she'd heard mixed reviews on the subject.

But she was being given everything she had ever wanted. A real life, with a real family, in a real house. Her _own_ life, as her own person. And she could make her own decisions. Do what she wanted with her life, but not alone. She could have love and support, if she only said yes.

So then, why did she hesitate? Why didn't she just accept this gift? The concept scared her. It was something new. It would be completely different from what she was used to. Was she ready for such a big change in her life? She just didn't know. That's why she ran off.

The first time she ran off, the second time, and now, for a third time, she had ran off. (Or rather, flown off in the first two cases). This time however, she wasn't so hard to find. She hadn't meant to leave for good. She just needed to be alone to think.

"Dani?" She jumped, startled by the familiar voice so close. She glanced behind her and wasn't surprised by what she saw. Danny Phantom, floating leisurely a few feet off the ground, regarding her with a worried expression. "You okay there?"

She gave the slightest nod. "Mhmm. Sorry I ran off. Again."

He smiled faintly. "You are starting to make a habit of it." He admitted. "But it's alright, really. I get it, I suppose. Why you ran off."

"But_ do_ you?" She asked, suddenly. "I mean... _I_ don't even understand."

"You were scared." He answered with a shrug.

"Was _not_!" Was her automatic reply. His response was to snicker at her indignant look.

"Not actually afraid of anything. I mean... inside." He poked her chest, making her rock backwards slightly. "You weren't expecting what just happened, and it took you by surprise. You didn't know how to respond, so you ran off so you wouldn't have to."

"How would you know all that?" She wondered, confused as to how he could guess so accurately how she was feeling.

His reply was a shrug. "Well, I guess I've done so much running away myself that it's easy to recognize now." He grinned.

She couldn't help but smile back. "Well, okay. But still... what do I do?"

"Say yes!" He announced happily, allowing himself to tilt backwards 'til he was nearly upside down, turning his body so he was still facing her.

"Why?"

"Well... don't you... want to?" He frowned at this point, only now realizing that she might not actually want to stay.

"I guess, but that's not what I meant. Why would they even ask? They don't _know_ me. They don't know who I am – or _what _I am." she added with a dark undertone. "They don't know _anything about me._ Why should they just offer to give me so much, without asking anything about me? Or anything _from_ me? People don't... _do_ that, Danny."

He seemed troubled by her reply, and slowly floated himself back down so he was sitting beside her on the grass. "Well, maybe not everyone would. In fact, maybe you're right, and not very many people would do that. And I know you certainly haven't had much of a chance to see any of the _good_ in people. Even a regular twelve year old wouldn't know too much about the world. The thing is, most of them are sheltered to _only_ see the good in people, and need to learn the hard way that not everything in the world is as nice at it seems. You're the other way around. You've only gotten to see the worst of people, and you're having a hard time believing there might be good people out there too."

"But I know _you're_ good. I trust _you_."

"Yeah, but, strange as it may seem, there are other people like me in the world." He looked comedically irritated as Dani giggled at him.

"Oh, Danny. I'm not sure there's _anyone_ quite like _you _in the world."

He sighed, but conceded a grin at least. "Right, well. Weirdness aside, my parents are still good people." He spoke again after a moment, returning to the topic at hand. "I know you're afraid of a lot of things, but they don't need to be one of them. Well. I suppose to _some_ degree, but so long as you're careful." He laughed, and she smiled a bit, knowing what he meant.

"And they're not asking questions because they don't _need_ to know about you if you don't want to tell them. What they do know is that you need help. You show up on our doorstep injured and homeless – I'd be shocked if they _didn't_ offer a place to stay. Just because a few weeks turned into a suggestion for something a bit more... _permanent_, you don't need to be scared. Just take things one day at a time. And I'm sure that everyone will understand if you ever need time to slip out and be alone. As for telling them about, y'know... everything between us... don't sweat it. They don't even know I'm half ghost." Dani remembered how shocked she'd been when she first learned that. After all, the only people she'd met in Danny's life had been Vlad, and a very brief appearance with his other two friends. They all seemed to know about him. To imagine that Danny's own _parents_ didn't know... she almost found it funny.

"So, it's not likely they'll figure it out unless you tell them. Trust me, they can be _pretty_ clueless." He continued. "Me and Jazz can both help keep it secret. If you trust her, that is. I still haven't told Jazz. She's suspicious, I can tell, but she won't go poking her nose around in your business. She's not like that."

"Well... I suppose..." Dani hesitated, wiping her blue sleeve under her nose. Her other fist was rubbing her eyes. "I guess... I guess I can try it, for a bit." Danny nodded, smiling encouragingly.

"But, do you think we could _walk_ home?" She asked, not even noticing her own use of the word 'home' to refer to Danny's house. He nodded, getting to his feet and immediately transforming back into his slightly more _human_ self. He stretched his arms and legs as Dani got to her feet beside him.

Then, she took his hand in her own, fighting her mounting nervousness back down, as they began the slow walk back _home_.


	2. Mother

**Mossmask: If you can't tell, this chapter takes place before the last one. It takes place basically right before Maddie proposes that they find away to legally keep her. Adopt her. All that nice stuff. It might even take place earlier the same day. **

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Mother

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The Fentons had thought it was awkward at first, when they realized the girl's name would become "Dani Fenton." Danny and Dani had cackled madly at the comparison, and decided that they didn't care.

When the girl had first shown up weeks ago, she'd clammed up when the Fenton's had asked for anything besides a first name. Last name? She'd almost answered, but frozen up and shook her head vehemently, replying instead that she "didn't have one."

Other family? Her face would simply darken. A home address? Eventually Dani realized she was being probed and would stop answering completely when her past was mentioned. It was obvious to Jack and Maddie that the girl must be a runaway. She had bonded almost instantly with Danny, and got along remarkably well with Jasmine as well. But she must have a family out there, somewhere, looking for her.

As parents, the Fentons couldn't imagine keeping a child away from her parents. But they weren't so rash as to assume they knew the whole story. If Dani was homeless, she might not have a home to go back to. If she was a runaway, who knew the situation they could be forcing her back into?

One day, when Danny and Jazz were at school, Maddie decided that her and Dani needed to sit down and be honest with each other. She sent Jack out of the house with a casual mention of spotting some ghosts near the park when dropping Danny and Jazz off at school. If Jack wondered why she didn't go after it herself – or noticed, at all, that she _hadn't_ driven either child to school, then he didn't show it. He was out of the house in a matter of moments, stopping only long enough to grab some gear and then he was screeching out of the driveway in the Fenton GAV.

"Dani?" Dani looked up from Danny's bed, (she'd been sleeping in Jazz's room, but seemed to spend most of the day when she was alone in Danny's. Danny insisted – oddly enough – that he didn't mind), where she'd been reading one of the books from Danny's shelf. It looked like an old storybook Danny hadn't actually read since middle school.

"Um, yes, Mrs. Fenton?"

"Maddie." She corrected absently. "I was wondering if, well... I was wondering if we could talk?"

Dani's face darkened for a moment before she leaned back and gave a long sigh – remarkably similar to the one's Danny gave whenever Maddie asked _him_ to talk. She leaned over, doggy eared the book, and placed it on Danny's night stand. "Yeah, I guess... I guess it is." She admitted, sounding reluctant.

The first thing she did when Maddie sat down beside her on the bed was apologize. "I-I'm sorry for sticking around this long. I know you said it was only until I got better, and I was fixed up _weeks_ ago, and I haven't been doing m-much besides take up space. And eat your food. And I guess I just didn't want to say goodbye to Danny again so soon, but-"

Maddie cut her off with a hug, shushing her. "Dani, Dani. That's not it at all. Look, I'm just gonna ask you a few questions, that's it. It's important you answer honestly. But you don't need to tell me anything you don't want me to know, okay?"

Dani nodded slowly, slightly confused, and wiped rapidly at the corner of her eye with her hoodie sleeve, trying to cover any evidence that she _may_ have been about to cry.

"Dani, do you have family, looking for you right now?"

The girl's face dropped into a stony expression, her jaw locked. She sat frozen for a moment, before shaking her head stiffly.

"Dani-"

"There is someone, looking for me. But he isn't family."

Maddie took a deep breath, trying not to think about any of the implications the girl was making. "Okay, it's okay Dani." She rubbed the girls back, just like she did to comfort Danny when he was young enough that he still let her. It spoke volumes about her current state that the normally obstinately independent girl was allowing it.

"Did you runaway from home, Dani?" Again, the girl nodded once, stiffly.

"But there's no point looking for it. And you can't send me back. I'd just disappe-"

"I'm not sending you anywhere, Dani."

"You... you're not?"

"No."

"Oh." She answered in a small voice, looking startled. They sat in silence a little longer before Maddie continue, pointedly ignoring the tears now wetting her shoulder.

"Just one more question, Dani..."

"Uh-huh?"

"Were you being abused?"

"... Huh?" Dani pulled back and stared at her blankly. "I don't... understand the question?"

"We're you being abused. Mistreated. Harmed. Physically? Emotionally? ... Sexually?"

Dani blinked. "Oh! Uhh..." she trailed off. "But you said I didn't have to tell you if I didn't want to." She argued. Maddie gave a small nod, seeming unable to unlock her arms around Dani. "That's right. You don't have to answer." No answer would be answer enough.

Dani pulled back uncomfortably. "Aah, but... oh... now you're going to assume the worst." She cringed. "Okay, okay. Um. Yeah, I was, I guess? But not... not really... and definitely not the last one! Ew!" She paused, gathering her thoughts. "At first he never really hurt me. I think he _might've_ actually loved me? I mean... I know he didn't want me, but he still might've loved me... y'know?" She shook her head slightly. "But he manipulated me, like he manipulates everyone. He lied to me, and he made me do some really awful things... I never even would have known he was using me if it weren't for-" she shook her head again, shutting her eyes.

Maddie didn't know who the mysterious "he" was. All she knew was that before Dani had come to them, she had spent an unknown amount of time living with some man. She would speak of him on occasion, but those occasions were rare and the information gleaned in them was small though unsettling. This was the most Dani had spoken on the matter at any time, and Maddie thought it was good for her to get it off her back. At the same time, Maddie knew better then to pry and ask any more questions beyond what Dani told her willingly.

"Anyway, I ran away once before. He found me that time, and almost killed me. He came really, really close to doing it too. I would have died if- if it weren't for... I... anyway. I ran away again. Lived on my own for a bit. Ended up here. The rest is history." Dani gave a noncommittal shrug as her story came to a close, and Maddie knew that was all she was going to get on the girl's past for likely a very long while.

She paused as a thought struck her. About how a girl used to living on the streets just up and decided to come to some family for help? After learning to be independent, learning not to trust strangers... you don't go _anywhere_ you don't trust. You don't just knock on a random door. Much less when you're injured. So why come to the Fentons? And... the panic on Danny's face when he'd answered the door, and brought the girl into the living room, asking for help. The way he and Dani bonded instantly. Danny's incredibly blatant over-protectiveness of her. And- and didn't she say she didn't want to say goodbye to Danny... _again?_ Maddie paled slightly.

"Dani, I've got just... one more question."

The girl frowned at her uncertainly. "I thought that last one was the last one?" She questioned, but she didn't sound genuinely bothered.

"I was just wondering... if anybody else knows about your situation? You... you had help getting out of it, right...?"

Dani was silent, watching her calculatingly.

"Dani, did... did Danny know? Did he _help_ you?"

Dani bit her lip this time, her expression an exact copy of Danny's when he was trying to keep something from his mom. Dani's silence was enough of an answer.

Amidst the shock, Maddie felt a swell of pride.


End file.
